1st Gen JCW Most liked posts in thread: Softer JCW Suspension - Sometimes

Ha, my wife doesn't seem to be bothered with the up and down suspension movement in my MINI. What she is always complaining about is the side to side movement. I guess that's why there is a hand grip over the passenger window....

 

Not to hijack the thread "BUT"

I once took a girlfriend on a long Harley Davidson motorcycle trip. She was fine for the first 300 miles, Then it started. At 500 miles I took her to the Greyhound bus station in Winchester Virginia and dumped her off. I really enjoyed the rest of my vacation and found a new girlfriend when I got back home.

:beer

 

For what it's worth.... My fJCW has the Sport dampers and oem springs..... Just recently got a set of Swift Spec-R springs and will be installing IE fixed camber plates (maybe this weekend). Should result in a mild 1/2" drop. I'll let you know how it rides. Unfortunately I'm still on the Continental Run flats, so I'll see a further improvement in ride once they get replaced.....

[/IMG]

 

Bilstein PSS9

 

Yeah..... Loving them....
Also went with the Fixed IE camber plates, Hsport Rear Camembert err camber links (love that cheese on water crackers with a Riesling). Also a DT front and rear performance alignment by the Chad himself.... The MINI handles and looks a lot better with the resulting drop..... Even my wift said it rides better..... Win, Win, Win.....

Here's a "today" pic....

 

A different car for road trips would be the answer. A short wheelbase car with very little suspension travel and low profile tires make it difficult to be wife friendly.

I've ridden in quite a few different setups and some improve on the stock suspension in certain ways, but ultimately, it still can be a little bit jarring with the reasons listed above.

 

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong here.

Shocks prevent or dampen the springs from oscillating. It sounds to me that you would want a softer spring in this case.

 

A softer progressive rate spring would be the answer. He already answered his question with the stock MCS suspension.

My friend sold his stock R56 MCS (which IMO is softer than a stock R53) because his wife was unhappy with how it rode.

 

Don't discount the benefits of lighter wheels, too. Less unsprung weight means the suspension doesn't work as hard.

If you picked up a used MCS suspension - shocks, springs, and upper mounts, non-sport package - it wouldn't be that big of a deal to swap everything out for that once-every-couple-years road trip. Maybe a couple hours of labor at a shop.

 

the koni yellows won't help, they are stiffer than the OEM shocks during bump (compression). The adjustment knob only affects the rebound.
koni FSD's would probably help, but then again springs are a lot cheaper to change than shocks.

 

There a million variables to ride quality, and sometimes it's hard to say what the problem is.

For instance, if your stock dampers are worn out and not damping as well or smoothly as they originally did, then softer springs may not even help you much. OR, if the really jarring bumps are actually bouncing you off of the bumpstops, then a softer spring may actually make it WORSE.

For instance, I've had cars with stock suspension and gone to a FAR, FAR stiffer spring and ended up with better ride quality because the new dampers were far more effective at smoothly damping the car AND keeping the car off of the bumpstops.

It's tough to say exactly what the culprit is when it comes to YOUR rough ride, but if it were me, I'd go with fresh, higher-quality dampers OR a lightweight 16" wheel set with more sidewall.

In the case of the better dampers, at least with that option, you're upgrading a part that's a wear item and will see the benefit of better handling at least, even if it doesn't completely solve your ride quality issue. If you just switch over to softer springs, then now you've replaced something that doesn't wear out, potentially diminished your handling, AND you still might not solve the problem.

That's my two cents

 

My MCS w/Sport Suspension w/45 sidewall is a far stiffer ride than my wife's MC w/standard suspension. Her's is the road trip car and mine is the fun car, with the 55 sidewall.

 

We have guys in or Car Clubs that swear by the KONI FSD's to take some of the harsh nature out of stiff suspensions.

 

get rid of the runflat tires

The runflats are very hard riding tires. I replaced mine with Michelin NON-RUNFLATS and it made a world of difference in my ride quality. I went with 215/45/17 exalta pe2 summer only tires. They not only ride smoother but are way less noisy and the car handles much better. If you do change to non-runlats you need to get a slime kit to carry with you.

I wouldn't change the springs or shocks on a JCW. The JCW has very stiff sway bars and the suspension matches everything up for performance and safety. Replacing the shocks with the Koni's will be fine when your original shocks wear out but probably won't be any softer ride.

Have fun at MTTS and if she complains to much you can send her home on a nice smooth riding greyhound bus.
:beer

 

Agreed! Ditching the run-flats is step #1.

 

only other option is:

Trade it in on a new "justa Countryman", You will hate it, Your wife will love it, And you will still have a Mini.

:biggrin5:

 

Tell your wife it's called a GP for a reason. If you want a Caddie like ride for MTTS rent a MIMI from your dealership or take the GP and leave the wife at home.:aureola: